Beirut's infrastructure ill-equipped to face Storm Joyce

The storm also made its way to Damascus and Istanbul, blanketing both cities in unprecedented levels of snow

Heavy clouds hover over Beirut as waves crash on the seawall of the corniche, in Dbayeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering up to 100 km/h (62 miles/h). (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)Show less

Waves smashed against Beirut’s abandoned corniche through Wednesday night, as Storm Joyce pummeled the country.

The storm, having made land in Lebanon late on Tuesday gathered steam on Wednesday, ripping awnings from buildings in Beirut and delivering several inches of snow to the country’s mountains.

As the front tore across a Beirut, a city already frozen by a corona-virus lockdown, the Meteorological department at Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport recorded wind spends of more than 70 kilometers per hour, as well as rising sea levels as the storm initially made land on Tuesday.

Through Wednesday, winds increased further to 85 kilometers per hour, and thunderstorms rumbled throughout the evening.

Thursday was predicated to be the coldest day of the year as the cold snap bites, bringing further snow to areas of lower altitude.

The country has had a notably dry start to the year, meteorologists warned, with temperatures expected to begin rising again from Friday.

The country’s infrastructure is ill-prepared for such weather, poor drainage systems leave main roads open to flooding, whilst hundreds of uncomplete construction projects, their cranes towering above Beirut are vulnerable to the high winds.

Local authorities warned people against driving, particularly in the mountains where ice has begun to form on the roads.

There were also concerns for the more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees hosted by Lebanon, with many of them confined to tents in refugee camps offering little protection from the elements.

The front also delivered a dusting of snow to Damascus, just days after it passed over Istanbul, leaving the Turkish city blanketed in unprecedented levels of snow.

A young Syrian girl runs on a snow-covered street in the Jabal Al Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP

A man pushes a large snowball in front of the Blue Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. An overnight cold snap brought heavy snowfall to Istanbul in the early morning, causing traffic disruptions. Getty Images

A woman takes a photo in the snow at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on February 17, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel, as wintery weather hits the country. Getty Images

A Syrian man rides a motorcycle among groves covered with snow in the Jabal al-Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP

People play by the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary during a snowy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, on February 18, 2021. Reuters

An ultra-orthodox man and his sons build a snowman in Sacher Park in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 February 2021. EPA

Israeli youths throw snowballs on cars in a main street in north Jerusalem neighbourhood, on February 17, 2021. EPA

A man looks on as snows falls in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, February 17, 2021. Reuters

Aysegul Cepoglu, rear, and Ahmet Efe Isik slide down the hill at snow-blanketed Seymenler Park, in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. AP Photo

Children play in the snow in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images